They are actually very well built and designed, as said you was just unlucky to get sold a dodgy pair. Most people don't have problems with the cabinets or design, and a fix was just adding a flange inside to fix the port noise issue, not really that hard of a fix and not a major change in the design, just a basic tweak fixed once it was reported about the issue one some of the models (Bare in mind the Majority did not have the port noise issue only some). So the design is not really as bad as your making out.

You had a problem with one of the faulty units, it's not a problem the majority have had or do have, as said months ago it was fixed and all new stock for ages ago don't have the problem, only very very old stock have the issue.

There has / and is problems with some KRK models such as hissing also, a quick google search shows up many results. While not a problem with the cabinet and maybe not as wide spread as the Focal CMS or Early Port noise Issue with AX, it's like I said all manufacturers usually have some problem especially in this price region, just the majority don't have the issues. Which is why I feel your being over the top with your criticism of the Adam design for you simply having a problem with one of the units where the problem was fixed many months ago.

I work with all sorts of music, mostly bass heavy electronic but work with some spoken / acoustic also.

They are actually very well built and designed, as said you was just unlucky to get sold a dodgy pair. Most people don't have problems with the cabinets or design, and a fix was just adding a flange inside to fix the port noise issue, not really that hard of a fix and not a major change in the design, just a basic tweak fixed once it was reported about the issue one some of the models (Bare in mind the Majority did not have the port noise issue only some). So the design is not really as bad as your making out.

You had a problem with one of the faulty units, it's not a problem the majority have had or do have, as said months ago it was fixed and all new stock for ages ago don't have the problem, only very very old stock have the issue.

There has / and is problems with some KRK models such as hissing also, a quick google search shows up many results. While not a problem with the cabinet and maybe not as wide spread as the Focal CMS or Early Port noise Issue with AX, it's like I said all manufacturers usually have some problem especially in this price region, just the majority don't have the issues. Which is why I feel your being over the top with your criticism of the Adam design for you simply having a problem with one of the units where the problem was fixed many months ago.

I work with all sorts of music, mostly bass heavy electronic but work with some spoken / acoustic also.

Thanks for the answer Jomox, yes there was posts with serial numbers etc, but wasnt that only for A5x/A7x? what about A3x? does the same serials go with them? i doubt it but yet i cant get answer from Adam :(

There was one (single) user who said they had the problem as well but did not read other complain about it, but then again, the number of Adam A3x owners is so small comparing Ax5/Ax7 so in short its extremley hard for me to find info about this :(

Now the problem is in the store, they got unpacked version which i dont know what
revision is, they refused to tell me, and the unpacked ones for demo i dont want to buy,for obvious reasons....so its like a gamble with my first quallity speakers, and its really hard for me to spend the money on something im not sure i can live with if the issues appear, because i would spend my all savings for this speakers...would be extremley disappointing :(

At this point i really dont know what to do, mostly because many users told me this speakers are the best in the price range, i went to hear them as well, the tweeters are fantastic, but i was in a hurry and i didnt test for port noise issues, but then again even if they would not have, the other boxed ones, which are not for demo, might have it...

Yes they do. I feel that low-volume clarity is one of the great strengths of the X-ART.

Quote:

4. What settings i should use them on? i mean when paired with Xonar STX i should avoid touching the software EQ right, btw i dont get the fuzz about DACS and digial vs analog audio, some say digital is better some analog, what is the true behind this?

I have a Xonar ST. Best bet with a Xonar is digital coax out to an external DAC with support for XLR out to the speakers.

Quote:

6. Would you buy speakers from store shelfs? i meant open ones, and put for sale, like a marketing unit, for the and to test how it sound as well, should i ask for discount on this kind of speakers, or just insisst to order completely new (if they got no un-packed ones)

Depends if they are in good cosmetic condition, are in warranty and sound good. But if I were you, I would get the boxed A3X.

Soo.. been scanning through the 1000€ Nearfield-posts for hours over here. It's crazy how there are contradictory opinions. Like damn, why they call themselves even monitors if they are so f**** different from each other. But reading alot i think it comes from the different situations. Everybody tests the speakers:
* with different music
* in different rooms
* at different listening positions
* with different ears
* different built-in eq settings
* in different moods

....so maybe the
Adam A7x
Focal CMS65
Neumann KH 120A
etc. are pretty much the same if you test it blindly with perfect same variables?

( yeah i will try to listen to them all first )

but back OT:
I would like to take the Adams 7x out/audio installations + my bedroom studio is pretty chaotic - what about the cones being without any protection?
Should i worry?
eg neumanns & genelecs have a metall net for protection and adams absolutely nothing? A tiny touch with a finger and they're screwed?

....so maybe the
Adam A7x
Focal CMS65
Neumann KH 120A
etc. are pretty much the same if you test it blindly with perfect same variables?

They are all different, personal thing! Just don't get whichever one "sounds the best" as this is not a good way to test monitor. Get the one that is most accurate and tells you the problems more. (I found the A7x to be that after testing all of them) Though the 120a on sound alone probably sounds better but prefer the low end and general detail / accuracy on the A7x makes it much easier for me to make things translate.

Quote:

Originally Posted by deefdeef

I would like to take the Adams 7x out/audio installations + my bedroom studio is pretty chaotic - what about the cones being without any protection?
Should i worry?
eg neumanns & genelecs have a metall net for protection and adams absolutely nothing? A tiny touch with a finger and they're screwed?

Don't need to worry about that, they won't just break if you touch them. Also with the 120a and CMS models they have grill's that protect them yes, but to get the best sound quality out of them you need to take the grill's off, so to get the best sound quality with the monitors with grill's you take them off and it's the same as the A7X, all have no grill's when in use.

I'd say the A7X are more sensitive to room treatment than the other two though. I was considering all the monitors you are, and I got the A7X because, I much preferred them for my personal tastes. I find them to be the most detailed / Accurate, with a clean none fatigue sound which enables you to fix things very easily. I got fatigue on the CMS after few hours, I did like their build quality, they don't go very loud compared to the A7X though (A7x go allot louder than CMS models)

Seriously thinking of replacing my Genelec 1031's with a pair of Adam a77x's. Ordering/trying them on January 1.

The Genelecs keep sounding too good and having translation problems with them (not only frequency-wise but balancing as well) - this might be a problem with me more than the monitors (although mixing more on my Avantone makes for better balances)

I've never had a build issue with adam products, I've owned a few over 5 or so years.

I blew a tweeter on a previous adam product I owned, they picked it up, fixed it and sent it back with in a week, under warranty.
The a7x has a five year warranty!

There is no port noise on the a7x that I use.

Dance kick drums are clean and solid, though not as deep as you get on Mackies.

The a7 had a bit of an issue with port noise but this has been addressed with a7x.

People seem to be expecting too much from the smaller monitors.
Playing dance music at volume through speakers with small 3-5" cones is going to create port noise/farting or distortion on any speaker, not just adams ax series. This is just physics really, it's not a build issue.
Some models might have slightly less than others but not by much.
rock and pop might be fine but the bass is too strong in dance for such a small cone to fill a room without crapping out.
These smaller monitors excel at low volume mixing, if you need to play loud get a bigger speaker.

Hi,
I recently purchased a pair of A5Xs and have roughly 100 hours on them now.I am hearing high note distortion in both speakers when playing the"Jeff Beck performing this week...Live At ronnie scott's"CD.
My volume is about 25%,the hi/low shelf are as shipped and the tweeter adjustment is one click before center.
Does this mean these speakers need repair already?
EDIT-I am thinking that this cd was the culpret not the speakers

Last edited by glenn55; 5th February 2012 at 01:48 PM..
Reason: most of my other cds don't cause a problem

The only widespread issue anyone had with the VXT was the occasional RFI that many monitors share, which is a nonissue compared to something like the Adam port issue. KRK's cabinet design is light years ahead of Adam's. I'm not here to have a useless debate whether any company ever has defective speakers go out the door as they all have them. With the Adams it was due to the design rather than a faulty unit which turns me off greatly. How could they let them go into production that way? And how is it that while they were made well aware of this issue over a year ago there would still be speakers selling in stores in April of this year like that?

"krk's cabinet design is light years ahead of adams" maybe their port design is better but not the entire cabinet IMO

Yes their was a design problem with the adam's ports, But no professional commercial release(that I'm aware of) could make them fart. I listened to the heaviest bassist,club,dance rap and crap...very loud and never heard the fart. So I did come up with a theory that if they are farting you have too much bass in your mix.
The other side of the coin was at low volume w/default logic bass software instruments they farted like crazy(on about 4 half steps)...mind you these default software inst. had bass eq'd up the yin yang!

I'm no expert but I see these speakers as an audio microscope from mid's up to tweeter infinity 50k!

5 year warranty is also nice.

One awesome thing is hearing mixing or production mistakes in popular commercial tunes.

I do have to use a bigger speaker to know exactly whats going on below about 45hz

These speakers aren't perfect but I love them!

One bummer is I had to pay shipping one way for them to fix my ports, is this the same for everyone?

The VXT or Exposé def have infinitely better cabinets. They seem pretty much bomb proof, aren't full of parallel surfaces and corners like Adams are, and the port design is just so much better than the dated port style Adam uses which caused them much grief. The person who sent me my A7x didn't pack them well enough and due to their design of mdf, cheap veneer, and sharp corners they arrived with both speakers chipped and split open on the corners. I had to clamp and glue them. The port noise was apparent pretty quickly on a lot of house music. The only tracks that it wasn't as obvious was ones with less sharp kick drums. On other genres it wasn't there at all. There's no way they would have been usable for me but the guy I sold them to who doesn't do dance music loved them. My experience with the company was a joke.. No response from my first contact then finally a month later I tried again to the usa and main german support and someone got back to me. Exchanged a few emails to verify it was port noise, couldn't tell me by serial # if mine was before they "fixed" the issue or not. Then I get told to contact the US office to find out how to proceed. The US guy contacted me and I replied to him explaining my situation and never heard from anyone there again. Of course I'd long since sold the speakers then, but I was curious to see how they'd handle it and if they offered to do anything good I was going to pass it along to the new owner. That was the last I heard from them though. All around a terrible first experience with Adam for durability, design, and customer service.

These days I'm using Focal Twins and they changed my life! Their customer service was also A+ the few times I've contacted them. They (both guys I contacted there, whose email addresses were promptly displayed on the website) verified the age of the used pair of twins I bought within a few hrs of emailing the serial numbers and said they'd look after me if anything went wrong with them. I definitely got a far more personable & accountable impression from them.

NMS said...The person who sent me my A7x didn't pack them well enough and due to their design of mdf, cheap veneer, and sharp corners they arrived with both speakers chipped and split open on the corners. I had to clamp and glue them.

I was worried about the shipping, It's a very real concern anymore I've had so many problems with damaged shipments. I could tell you horror stories all day long but I've only had to take a bullet once or twice for this.
I ordered my speakers from zzounds(cause of tweak). Which has to ship all the way from new york to montana. The box came with a big smash on the side of it...Checked it right in front of fed ex man, all was good in my case, I was very impressed with how these speakers were packaged so well.

Around here the your better of with fed ex. Although it's reflected in their price.

The moulded foam cel stuff that KRK uses for their boxes is awesome. My expensive Focal Twins unfortunately use typical crappy styrofoam which doesn't absorb shock as well and breaks. The big problem though is when people aren't using the factory shipping boxes and pack stuff in a way where you're lucky if it arrives in tact and you wonder wtf were they thinking!

But yeah, nonetheless, I'm not a huge fan of your typical cheap plastic speaker veneer over mdf with sharp corners waiting for the day they peel, dent, or chip!

Yeah in regards to company's not packaging things correctly musicians friend sent me a motu 828 with a shure 57+mic stand and a few other things.
The interface was literally bent, because of poor packing. Fortunately, MF sent me a new one...but WTF was the guy thinking that packed this giant box with no support.

I have £900 for a pair of monitors (no more, already pushed myself up £500, but willing to hear on your opinion of other speakers).

I will be mixing mostly electronic music and my own sound design projects so I'm thinking I'll need monitors that go to 45Hz before roll-off, and general clear uncoloured character. Need to hear mids, detailed bass and highs. No hifi sounding speakers. And subs are against my belief and bank account.

8" drivers in a 2 way design are detrimental to the mid range. Aside from that, A8X in that small a room is probably not a good idea.

A7x are great for some, others not so much. Check them out well in person and check out the Focal CM65. I'd recommend the Focals first but those kind of decisions need to be made by your ears, not a forum.

Having heard the A7x and A8x, the A7x makes more sense. With a decent sub, you get range as good or better than the A8x. The A8x really suffers in the midrange compared to them, and the only one in that A-line that sounded better was the A77x. That's because it's based on the A7x (same sized woofers, but two). They seemed to go as low as the A8x, but with better midrange clarity and detail.

"Limited-edition glossy black version of the popular A7XGB powered monitor.

More than 30 glowing reviews, numerous awards, and countless dedicated fans made the A7 a true legend in nearfield monitoring. The legend continues with the A7XGB, a limited-edition glossy black version where all drivers, amplifiers, and the cabinet have been revised, resulting in a speaker that claims nothing less but to be a new benchmark in nearfield monitoring." c c]]

I was about to say its just a colour change like the white A7 limited edition but then the text says components have been revised. I'm confused why they would upgrade the monitor to sound better but only sell limited quantities. Surely Adam would want their reputation and life of the monitor to extend..

Edit, I think the 'revision' is talking the a7 to a7x. Marketing hype to sell the a7xGB as 'new'

I've worked with both and currently own the A7X. I opted for the (more expensive) A7X because it really does sound better. The lows extend lower and the highs are smoother.

We are not talking about difference between A7 and A7X. There are major differences between each speaker and that is undisputed.

What I am curious about is if there are any changes/audio enhancement from A7X to these A7XGB limited edition speakers that were just released. In the advertisement they boast as though there have been significant enhancements but as another user mentioned it might be a marketing thing.

I've emailed support at Adam around 48hrs ago, they still have yet to get back to me about this. If they do, I will post their reply here.